GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Green Cove Springs city employees will see a 2 percent cost of living assessment pay increase in addition to $500 bonuses for the 2019 fiscal year.

A unanimous City Council vote opted to blend raises with bonuses while the council decides how to restructure the way its employees are paid between October 1 and the start of budget meetings next August.

“If we want to compete [with the private sector], then we’re going to have to start levelling the playing field,” said council member Van Royal.

According to Human Resources Director Mary Jane Lundy, employees have a tendency to move on soon after being hired by the city. Members of the council came to a consensus that they should do away with some of the large payouts for things such as longevity and unused vacation time and instead filter that amount of money into wages and base pay so that employees get their money throughout the year instead of all at once.

“Younger employees are much more interested in take-home pay than they are in benefits,” said council member Mitch Timberlake. “I think it puts us more in line with other people and it puts more money in employees’ pockets up front.”

The longevity payouts, called seniority pay by the city, only apply to long-term employees, and, according to City Manager Danielle Judd, this isn’t something that public entities typically do.

“I’ve been saying it since I came here for seven and a half years that the benefit package that we have is very generous,” Judd said. “What needs to happen is taking some of those benefits and rolling them into the hourly rate, a conclusion you all came to today on your own.”

The council deliberated for a while between 3 percent pay increases and $1,000 bonuses before finally settling on the combination of a 2 percent raise with a $500 bonus check for those who have completed their six-month probationary period by Oct. 1, and bonuses being awarded to employees as they meet their six-months after that date. This is in line with the last several years’ wage increases and allows the council another year to revisit the changes they hope to make that will increase base pay for all employees and stop payouts for unused vacation by urging employees to take the vacation time they’re given and use it.

At Tuesday’s budget meeting, the council also moved through the general fund budget including capital improvement projects that are to be completed in the next year.

With major utility upgrades on the horizon, the CIP budget increased from $8.52 million in 2018 to $10.2 million projected in 2019. Some CIP highlights include building a $1.3 million public works compound, $345,000 for a library at the Augusta Savage Arts and Community Center and the legislative delegation of $600,000 to the city by the state for improvements to the Spring Park Pier. Parks and Recreation Director Glee Glisson presented plans to implement a softball league and a flag football league within the city limits in addition to the pickleball league she has already started at the ASACC gym.

“Sports has been so huge in my family growing up,” said council member Steven Kelley. “I really want my kids interacting with other children in a competitive atmosphere, I think that for me growing up, that interaction in sports is what helped me have the skills necessary to have self-confidence and interact with other kids in school.”

Kelley said he hopes to see the sports programs grow and become an integral part of the community so parents like him won’t have to look in other counties for organized team sports for their children.

Glisson will also continue the free swimming lessons program at Spring Park Pool which taught 72 children to swim during the 2018 season, and expectations for the use of the pool are on the rise.

“I can remember where we would total out at $3,000 at the end of the summer – and now –

it’s over $25,000,” Glisson said.

Other smaller improvements will come in the form of a $45,000 upgrade to the Spring Park gazebo and a $15,000 grant that will fund a park for kids under the age of 5 at Friendship Park.

On the revenue side of things, the city expects a $100,000 increase in red light camera income, jumping from around $600,000 in the 2018 budget to an expected $715,000 budgeted in 2019. Police Chief Derek Asdot said this number reflects an increase in total cars on the road, not necessarily repeat offenders and expects the number to continue to rise between six and eight percent in the next few years as the city grows.

The city will meet for its fourth and final budget meeting at 9 a.m. on Aug. 21 before their regularly scheduled council meeting at 7 p.m. that evening.